This Saturday PM visted the Solomon's Island Tiki Bar. I had one of the red pre-mixed Mai-Tai's & yes it was too sweet. Then per prior posted suggestion had a Kokomo which was real nice & at $6.50 a drink was easy on the wallet as well as the tongue.

Since some of the prior posted photo visits a violation notice was posted by local officials regarding some of the Tiki Village work taking place without prior approval. The sand covered driveway had now been uncovered & the large Aku's had been removed off to the side.

Spoke briefly with one of the owners told him I heard about the bar at Tikicentral & he was pleased.He indicated they had other future Tiki improvement plans once they resolve the current dispute.

Bought a number if Tiki mugs in the gift shop including the two photo posted peanut mugs @ $11.00 each, not bad. I was the "only" person on site wearing a Hawaiian shirt & suggested his bartenders would add to the Tiki astmosphere in Hawaiians. All in all a nice trip worth the 90 minute drive.

I was there for the first time a week ago. I have heard legendary stories about the place for quite some time.

Thortiki is pretty much correct. Its not a Tiki Bar per se although its look is not too bad. Ultimately, its bows more towards the Buffet concept. I was there in the early afternoon and there was actually an interesting assortment of bikers, Lesbians, middle aged tourists, etc congregating.

The retail store was cool though as it had some stuff you do not find everyday on the East Coast. I grabbed two mugs.

I have heard it gets pretty wild at night. I probably would have loved it in my younger days, but now married with a kid on the way, it would probably not be to my liking. Too rowdy.

It took me about a year and a half, but I finally got me a Solomon's Island mug. This has to be the best mug design Tiki Farm has ever done. Classic all the way. Thanks to Holden for finally making it available on the Tiki Farm site!

That is a sweet mug but I was so turned off by the biker bar crowd/atmosphere that I couldn't bring myself to buy one. All the Bosko decor is awesome but this place definitely proves that you can't judge a book by its cover.

[Edited a few minutes after posting - I somehow blew my "paste" and went back to restore lost material about Bosko's contributions, and to clarify a few things, oops, sorry... Trying to take my foot out of my mouth...!!!]

Great concept, but an unfortunate and "thin" execution of tiki from the standpoint of cocktails... I hate walking into places with high hopes and then am disappointed. In this case there appears to be very little true tiki "behind the bar" and beyond the carvings among the pop-culture tiki stuff. But at least they have *real* Bosko carvings! They have a very nice web site. The online drink menu certainly is a hint that legacy drinks are not likely to be found there even though they talk up their version of a Mai Tai. I find it interesting that many bars seem compelled to do "their own version" of a Mai Tai. But the good news is that lots of people seem to have fun there, and that it can raise awareness and act as a "gateway experience" to those who may later come to discover more tiki and Polynesian pop in other places. I'll raise a glass to that! Someday a patron to Solomons Island Tiki Bar will Google the place and this message thread may come up in the search result. To that patron: "May your discovery of Tiki Central, and more tiki, also be enjoyable and worthwhile!"

A co-worker of mine just came back from Las Vegas and she took me up on the suggestion to visit Frankie's Tiki Room with her friends. She told me this morning that she "saw the light" that is true cocktail craftsmanship and described it as a real eye-opener. Now I can continue by telling her about places like the Mai Kai, Hukilau, Tiki Caliente, Tiki Oasis, etc.

Our work is still just beginning. I'm glad we continue to help spread the word about good cocktails and share our worthwhile experiences. There's a whole world out there that needs rescue from high fructose corn syrup, food coloring and mediocre or bad rums.

Ooops, for those who get the posts via email, I had to edit my last message a few minutes after posting. I somehow blew my "paste" and sent an earlier incomplete version of the message and had to go back to restore lost material about Bosko's contributions and the good tiki elements at Solomons Island. I also clarified a few things in the first paragraph that weren't clear enough, such as that there *are* true and good tiki elements in the place.

I am at work right now and not paying close enough attention, sorry for the boneheadedness... It's Monday morning and I'm still wishing it was the weekend.

Sorry about that boneheaded move. Scared the crap out of myself when I saw what I sent...
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